Reach Out I'll Be There

"Reach Out I'll Be There" (also formatted as "Reach Out (I'll Be There)") is a 1966 hit song recorded by The Four Tops for the Motown label. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland-Dozier-Holland, the song is one of the most well-known Motown tunes of the 1960s and is today considered The Tops' signature song. It was the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, from September 24, 1966 to October 15. It replaced "Cherish" by The Association, and was itself replaced by "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians. Rolling Stone later ranked this version #206 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Lead singer Levi Stubbs delivers many of the lines in the song in a tone that straddles the line between singing and shouting, like he did in 1965's I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).

This song differs markedly from the Four Tops' earlier efforts, due to the highly-contrasting shifts between minor and major, and also major and augmented chords. These contrasting tonal shades form the hook for which the song is so well known. The Four Tops would rely on this formula for several subsequent releases.

1 Covers
2 Use in other music
3 See also
4 Credits

[edit] Covers

Only weeks after the original release, Jamaican soul singer Derrick Harriott recorded and released a fine rocksteady version of this pop soul hit on his own Crystal label in Kingston, Jamaica (reissued on Gaz Mayall's Top Ska Tunes, Trojan 2004).

Diana Ross scored a Top 40 remake of the Four Tops' classic taking it to number twenty-nine on the Hot 100 in 1971. It was the second release from Ross' third solo album, Surrender, in just a year. Ross' version was produced by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson, and was built around the same thematic basis that made Ross' 1970 remake of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" a success.

Gloria Gaynor performed a disco version in 1975.

Famed drummer/producer/singer Narada Michael Walden performed a version of the tune on his 1983 album Looking at You, Looking at Me, and it became a moderate R&B hit.

Punk rock band Snuff released a version of the song on their covers album Flibbidydibbidydob.

Michael Bolton covered this song from his 1992 compilation album Timeless: The Classics.

The song inspired the 2003 film I'll Be There featuring Charlotte Church.

Michael McDonald also recorded a version for his album, Motown Two, the follow-up to his album Motown.

Bill Cosby recorded a humorous version of the song for his album "Hooray for the Salvation Army Band", with sillier lyrics.

Boyz II Men covered this song during a live medley on UK reality talent show The X Factor in October 2007.

Clare Teal also covered this song on her 2007 album Paradisi Carousel.

[edit] Use in other music

The song's introduction is sampled extensively throughout The Field's 'Action'.

[edit] See also

[edit] Credits

Lead vocals by Levi Stubbs
Background vocals by Abdul "Duke" Fakir, Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, and The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps
Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers
Written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Edward Holland, Jr.
Produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier

Preceded by "Cherish" by The Association	Billboard Hot 100 number one single (The Four Tops version) October 15, 1966 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians
Preceded by "Distant Drums (song)" by Jim Reeves	UK number one single 27 October 1966 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Good Vibrations" by Beach Boys
Preceded by "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles	United World Chart number one single October 15, 1966	Succeeded by "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles

Reach Out I'll Be There

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Contents

[edit] Covers

[edit] Use in other music

[edit] See also

[edit] Credits

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